HAVE A HEART
Heart Moms Organize Gala Fund Raiser for Youngsters with Heart Defects
by Jim Evans

Sidney Hagwood

Like most mothers, Lauren Hagwood of Ramona has learned to take things in stride with regard to her children. Sometimes things just happen, and you just deal with them.

In Hagwood’s case, her daughter Sidney was born with a congenital heart problem — tricuspid atresia, to be exact — and experienced open heart surgery at just 3 1/2 months old, four cardiac catheterizations, and a final open-heart surgery at 18 months old. At 4 years of age, Sidney received her first pacemaker.

Now 5, Sidney is just as normal as any other child her age, except for the small miraculous machine in her chest that helps to control the rate and rhythm of her heartbeats.

Tricuspid atresia is one of many congenital heart problems affecting children. In the normal heart, there are four chambers. The two upper chambers consist of the right and left atrium, and the two lower chambers are the right and left ventricles. Blood from the body collects in the right atrium and passes into the right ventricle, where it is pumped to the lungs to collect oxygen. The newly oxygenated blood then passes through the left atrium to the left ventricle, which distributes it to different body organs.

The tricuspid is a valve that separates the right atrium from the right ventricle and prevents the blood from flowing backward. It allows blood into the pulmonary artery, which carries the blood to the lungs.

Since Sidney was born without a tricuspid valve — and essentially no right ventricle — she underwent a Fontan procedure to bypass the right ventricle by joining the right atrium directly to the pulmonary artery. ("Heart Health," British Heart Foundation, May 17, 2004)

Complicated? Yes, but Hagwood has become well versed in the medical jargon. Despite Sidney’s remarkable progress, none of these surgeries will completely correct her condition, so she likely will need regular checkups with a cardiologist for the rest of her life. She also might need to take certain antibiotics from time to time to prevent endocarditis, an infection of the lining of the heart or heart valves.

Only about 1 in every 15,000 children will experience tricuspid atresia, according to Hagwood, but many more will suffer from other forms of congenital heart problems.

In San Diego, most of these children are treated at Children’s Hospital, San Diego’s only designated pediatric trauma center and the only area hospital dedicated to pediatric care. With its main campus in Kearny Mesa, Children’s Hospital provides 15 neighborhood centers offering primary care and specialized services. (www.chsd.org)

However, Children’s Hospital’s cardiac unit is in need of new equipment, a new operating room, and an additional catheterization lab. Hagwood has purposely avoided exploiting her daughter’s condition for fear that it would make her feel different from other children her age, but now she is compelled to take a more active role in raising funds to assist Children’s Hospital in every way possible.

"Sidney will continue to need support and surgeries at Children’s Hospital for her entire life," Hagwood said. "Any way that I can make that (the cardiac unit) a safer, more technologically advanced unit is ensuring that my daughter and other children will receive the best care available.

"Unfortunately, congenital heart defects have touched many of our lives — many right here in Ramona — and statistically, can happen to any of us," she added. "This issue affects everyone — moms, dads, babies and more."

Hagwood has joined with other mothers of cardiac children to raise funds for the hospital that has saved their children. A black-tie fund-raising gala will take place Oct. 9 at the San Diego Aerospace Museum at Balboa Park.

"We hope to raise at least $50,000 with a silent auction and donations," Hagwood said. "Any help, no matter how small, would be appreciated."

For further information, call Mary Levinson, Corporate Sponsor Coordinator, (619) 523-1147 or e-mail to mlevinson@chifund.org.

And ask about Sidney. It’s all about children.